Song 5:2 | KingComments | STEP | With this verse a new part of the book begins. The previous part ended with the groom who came into the garden of the bride and rejoices about everything there is in her garden. Now follows a part in which we see how the bride refuses the groom again, but later seeks for him and finds him again. The bride has fallen asleep. She forgot the groom and doesn’t seem to need his company. In the life of the believer, it may be that at some moment he is full of the Lord Jesus, but that he also has moments or periods when he is not fully focused on Him and his love is diminished. This change of love and its absence will also characterize the remnant. When we are asleep, we need the call to awaken from sleep ( ). The bride’s heart is awake, but still she sleeps. She sleeps with respect to the groom, but she is awake to her surroundings. Her attention is no longer focused on him, but on everything else. That is a situation that the groom does not want. He wants the undivided attention of his bride. He goes to work for that. He lets the bride hear that he is coming. She perceives it with her ears and knows it is him. She calls him “my beloved”. Then she hears him knocking and asking to let him in. He addresses her with names that indicate what she means to him. In the same way the Lord tries to win our often cold or indifferent heart by telling us what we mean to Him. He calls her “my sister,” which indicated that there is a family relationship. For us it is there through the new life, the Divine nature, which has been given to us ( ; ). He also calls her “my darling” or “my friend”, which indicates confidentiality, the sharing of secrets. The Lord Jesus calls us “friends” because He has made known to us everything He has heard from His Father. He introduced us into God’s thoughts ( ). He then calls her “my dove”. A dove is the picture of simplicity and affection toward him. For us, we must have an eye only for the Lord Jesus, which is worked through the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who is compared to a dove ( ). Finally, he calls her “my perfect one”. By this he means that she has reached the stage of maturity. Spiritually, it means that a believer knows his position in Christ. He knows that through the one sacrifice of Christ he is “perfect for all time” ( ). Then he will also behave spiritually mature ( ). The fact that Christ addresses a ‘sleeping’ believer with these names shows how lovingly He wants to awaken such a believer to live for Him again. But the groom is not finished talking to her yet. He points not only to what she means to him, but also to what he does and has done for her. He spent the night outside, without a place to sleep. There he thought of her, with thoughts of blessing for her. Thus it may be that the Lord Jesus is outside our life and we are inside in our safe, comfortable environment. There has come a separation that is unbearable to Him. He has none on the earth but His bride, the believers. If she no longer shows any interest in Him, He will do everything to reawaken her love for Him. To this end He shows what He endures for her. He wanders, as it were, lonely through the night. When He comes to her, He tells her what is on His head and His hairlocks as a result of His search for her. His search is not about her location, because He knows where she is. His search concerns her heart, for it is no longer directed at Him. If we no longer give Him the only place in our lives, He presents Himself to us in His suffering at night. We can then think of the fears that overwhelmed Him in Gethsemane. There His head is “drenched with dew” and His hairlocks “with the damp of the night”. We know how He was in agony in Gethsemane, how His sweat fell down upon the ground “like drops of blood” ( ). His “head … drenched with dew” reminds us that He always thought of His bride to start a new life with her. Dew announces a new day of refreshment. He thought about this in Gethsemane. His “locks [drenched] with the damp of the night” recalls His dedication – of which the locks speak – to her, to which the tears of suffering in the night are attached ( ). That has kept Him busy in the garden. Will this impressive approach work for His sleeping beloved? What does it do with us, who may also have fallen asleep?

‏ Song of Solomon 5:2

I Was Asleep but My Heart Was Awake

With this verse a new part of the book begins. The previous part ended with the groom who came into the garden of the bride and rejoices about everything there is in her garden. Now follows a part in which we see how the bride refuses the groom again, but later seeks for him and finds him again.

The bride has fallen asleep. She forgot the groom and doesn’t seem to need his company. In the life of the believer, it may be that at some moment he is full of the Lord Jesus, but that he also has moments or periods when he is not fully focused on Him and his love is diminished. This change of love and its absence will also characterize the remnant.

When we are asleep, we need the call to awaken from sleep (Eph 5:14). The bride’s heart is awake, but still she sleeps. She sleeps with respect to the groom, but she is awake to her surroundings. Her attention is no longer focused on him, but on everything else.

That is a situation that the groom does not want. He wants the undivided attention of his bride. He goes to work for that. He lets the bride hear that he is coming. She perceives it with her ears and knows it is him. She calls him “my beloved”. Then she hears him knocking and asking to let him in. He addresses her with names that indicate what she means to him. In the same way the Lord tries to win our often cold or indifferent heart by telling us what we mean to Him.

He calls her “my sister,” which indicated that there is a family relationship. For us it is there through the new life, the Divine nature, which has been given to us (2Pet 1:4; Jn 20:17). He also calls her “my darling” or “my friend”, which indicates confidentiality, the sharing of secrets. The Lord Jesus calls us “friends” because He has made known to us everything He has heard from His Father. He introduced us into God’s thoughts (Jn 15:14-15).

He then calls her “my dove”. A dove is the picture of simplicity and affection toward him. For us, we must have an eye only for the Lord Jesus, which is worked through the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who is compared to a dove (Mt 10:16 ; Mt 3:16).

Finally, he calls her “my perfect one”. By this he means that she has reached the stage of maturity. Spiritually, it means that a believer knows his position in Christ. He knows that through the one sacrifice of Christ he is “perfect for all time” (Heb 10:14). Then he will also behave spiritually mature (Phil 3:15a). The fact that Christ addresses a ‘sleeping’ believer with these names shows how lovingly He wants to awaken such a believer to live for Him again.

But the groom is not finished talking to her yet. He points not only to what she means to him, but also to what he does and has done for her. He spent the night outside, without a place to sleep. There he thought of her, with thoughts of blessing for her.

Thus it may be that the Lord Jesus is outside our life and we are inside in our safe, comfortable environment. There has come a separation that is unbearable to Him. He has none on the earth but His bride, the believers. If she no longer shows any interest in Him, He will do everything to reawaken her love for Him.

To this end He shows what He endures for her. He wanders, as it were, lonely through the night. When He comes to her, He tells her what is on His head and His hairlocks as a result of His search for her. His search is not about her location, because He knows where she is. His search concerns her heart, for it is no longer directed at Him.

If we no longer give Him the only place in our lives, He presents Himself to us in His suffering at night. We can then think of the fears that overwhelmed Him in Gethsemane. There His head is “drenched with dew” and His hairlocks “with the damp of the night”. We know how He was in agony in Gethsemane, how His sweat fell down upon the ground “like drops of blood” (Lk 22:44).

His “head … drenched with dew” reminds us that He always thought of His bride to start a new life with her. Dew announces a new day of refreshment. He thought about this in Gethsemane. His “locks [drenched] with the damp of the night” recalls His dedication – of which the locks speak – to her, to which the tears of suffering in the night are attached (Heb 5:7). That has kept Him busy in the garden.

Will this impressive approach work for His sleeping beloved? What does it do with us, who may also have fallen asleep?